Can you count?

I am still completely disgusted with Thompson and Morgan.

I have received all my seeds from Lindenberg and nothing from T&M. I tried to email my thoughts about their company but the email won't go through. I called last week to find out 'what's the deal' and spoke to a curt woman that claims I shouldn't be bothered by the wait "it has to come from the US which is 10-14 business days. If you don't receive anything by the first of April, calls us back and we'll look into it" she still didn't have any explaination for the missing items, but "they'll probably come later".

I HATE THIS COMPANY

I WILL NEVER SHOP WITH THEM AGAIN

If anyone reads this and thinks they would like to order from the same company I suggest you order now for next season because they take their time filling and shipping your order - spring lasts all year there I guess. So much for having some of these plants ready for the school tea in mid May - that ain't gonna happen.

I am just so ripped about the whole ordeal.

And the S*%t list continues....

So this post is finding me even more peeved than the last. I have received all but the live plants from Lindenberg and still nothing from T&M. I am not a happy camper - to say the least. They have one more day before they get another phone call from me - and this time my niceness factor will be very limited. The day I complained (last time) the progress of my order page had eventually changed to this week delivery. Last Friday they sent me an email to let me know my order has been shipped - except for two items which seem to have been deleted from my list - who knows what is happening with them. The bulk of the items I ordered should be arriving tomorrow - I checked Can Post and they state from the Ontario address to mine should take six business days on regular shipping - so much for the "rush" on my order. (the order form attached to the catalog states that they use UPS or FedEx - not the cheapest possible snail mail - no offence Can Post) The progress of my order page also doesn't state how my items were shipped - 'unknown shipping method'. What the heck does that mean? They have no idea who is moving my order - how do they not know that? I am more and more annoyed with this company every day that goes by. They will be getting an email from me regarding their dispatching policy - "your order will be shipped within 3 business days (Monday thru Friday). transit times vary from 3-10 business days after dispatch." and their 100% customer satisfaction guarantee - "we strive to provide the best products and level of service possible and generally all our customers are delighted first time. however, we're not perfect and occasionally we get things wrong, but we'll always do our best to put them right to your total satisfaction".

My sis-in-law and I put in an order with these people thinking they were a reputable company. I will not be using them again, I will look elsewhere for the plants or seeds I want. The lesson here - customer beware, check business ratings and keep looking around.

Someone is on my S*%t list

So as you can see by the title this post will be a ranting and raving post - mostly ranting. For the first time ever this year I decided to order flower seeds via catalogs. I found two companies I wanted to order from - Thompson and Morgan - they have such a beautiful and interesting selection including stuff that no one else carries, and Lindenberg seeds - they have the best prices, a limited selection but eBren friendly prices - I'm a major cheap-o.
So here is my rant

Warning...foul language has been slightly edited...

I ordered February 19 from both companies - online at T&M and by phone to Lindenberg. The lady I spoke to at Lindenberg told me the seeds would come fairly soon and the plants would come weather permitting - I understand. I get an email from T&M so I can track my orders progress - shipment and delivery dates - these dates keep changing almost everyday....hmmm...weird.

Last week I received a package from Lindenberg, some things are back ordered but I am happy to get something. Today was the expected date (this date has been on my tracking page for over a week now) of delivery for my T&M stuff so I check the status again to see if the stuff has been shipped (an hour later.....)  for S*%t sakes the dates have changed again - now the dates are from next week to April first!!!!!!!

I am so Pi$$ed at this point I call customer service and complain.

Where is my order?

Am I getting it this year?

What is taking so long?

At this point I am so frustrated that I do not want to be ordering from them again, and I tell him so - recorded call - gotta like that, I will also tell my friends that they are not shipping 3-10 business days as their website claims. The guy on the other end of the phone was very polite and apologetic to the point where I can almost feel his nose up my butt, but I'm still fuming. He asks me if I ordered via web page and says "I guess no one started your order" so he has put a "rush" on it and expected delivery is from the 15-23 of this month. Unless I get some seeds soon I will not order from them again. I have purchased their seeds before through my local garden center/hardware store and I was happy with their product - I AM NOT happy with their customer service. So a fair warning goes out to all who read this post that if you have an itchy garden thumb like mine I wouldn't waste my time ordering from Thompson and Morgan, go directly to your local seed supplier and buy there - or don't buy anything from them the choice I leave up to you.

A very disgruntled T&M customer. eBren

The Greenhouse

I have to track back a bit to last year. My birthday is in Spring and I am a garden nut. Last year I finally decided to get what I have desired for so many years - a greenhouse.

My visions of how a greenhouse works and what I could grow were phenominal - fantasy like.

I purchased a small greenhouse from a local hardware store - it was on sale and in the 'Bren range' (I hate spending money on myself - it almost makes me feel selfish). I got the boxes home and set out to read the instructions. Hhhmmmmm - these intsructions SUCK!!! Mostly pictures, not very informative pictures either, with a little swearing and help from my Dear Hubby (DH) we got the unit together - on the driveway between my truck and the garage door. It's early April, the weather is warming up nicely (sort of) and I am so anxious to start using the greenhouse, but where do I put it? I think north of the house - fairly sheltered from the winds in my area but it will receive sun all day. DH has a different idea - put it over by the horse pen close to the tack shed - protected on all sides except the south. (oh yeah I live on a farm) I need a day or so to think about it's final placement and getting a cup of coffee I hear a weird 'crash/bang' noise outside. From my garden door in the kitchen I can usually see the greenhouse on the driveway - but - IT'S GONE!!!

Where the hell did it go??

A lovely gust of wind sucked it out of it's spot tipped it into the driveway beside the garage and chucked it down the driveway north of the house. I grabbed my coat and went out to rescue my poor mangled greenhouse. DH, seeing me dash outside, came to see what the commotion was about and helped take apart the last few pieces that were still hanging together. We took all the pieces into the garage and I began to straighten out the bent bits.

What a disaster!!! I was heart broken.

My poor greenhouse that I spent so much money on is now garbage. Over the next few days I go out to the garage on a regular basis to visit the pieces scattered all over the garage floor and dream of what could have been. We usually have friends visit for the Easter break so I plan to rebuild the greenhouse with a strong base this time. With a little help from DH and our buddy Bob they built me a base out of old railway ties. As DH is busy with other things, Bob and I get to work rebuilding the greenhouse on it's new sturdy base.

SUCCESS!!

The greenhouse is now bolted to the base, sturdy and set in it's new place - let's get plants in it. I actually held back for a few weeks, which I thought was a sufficient amount of time - yeah think again. Two days go by with my plants in the greenhouse and everything is good, I am out there checking two or three times a day - I am sure if I could live out there I would. Then mother nature craps in my cornflakes. FROST - hard frost - kills off more than half of the seedlings I started back in February. I am beginning to think this greenhouse thing wasn't such a good idea. Crushed from all the disasters lately I suck it up and try again, reseed all the things I lost, have a small funeral for all the plants and seedlings I tenderly grew that saw their demise at the hand of the cold. I spend a lot of time searching for cheap ways to heat the greenhouse at night - solutions for cheap heating are very few. Eventually I do get all the plants out to the greenhouse and they grow without any more problems - except I guess for the spidermites that travelled in on a white Liatris spicata I purchased - the little buggers were very well hidden when I bought the plant - I am usually very good about checking purchased plants for bugs/disease, but I missed these guys and they spread like wildfire throughout the greenhouse.

My Dad, a very talented woodworker, built a pine adjustable shelving unit for my birthday. It fits perfectly, four slatted shelves - lots of room for all the plant trays.

Although I have already started seeds for this season I am going to be practising my patience this year. Don't get too over zealous with getting the plants outside to the greenhouse - or find that cheap heat solution soon. There is still two feet of snow around the greenhouse and the temperatures during the day are just above freezing. I keep myself preoccupied with my plant binder, my blog pages and scouring the net for cheap DIY projects. It seems to be helping but I've still got an itchy garden thumb - I'll be starting more seeds by the end of the week. A few photos of the greenhouse with plants and seedlings from last year - post hard frost funeral. A drizzly, cloudy day was perfect for taking the pictures in late May. The first photo - the south wall, top shelf, holds tomatoes (I bought), hot peppers, pansies (I bought) various flowers I seeded (reseeded). The lower shelf holds osteospermum (I bought), cypress vine, moonflowers, white shockwave petunias and purple wave petunias (all from seed).

The north wall holds a coffee table my Dad built when he was in high school - I think welding class, anyway it's old, not very pretty but it is sturdy and useful. It is holding a Canna lily 'Wyoming' (purchased), Artemesia and creeping speedwell (both purchased), a perennial geranium and a variegated Jacob's ladder (both from my sis in law). Under the coffee table you can barely see the water hyacinth that I bought from a local nursery/greenhouse, they were huge and very much worth the money ($5) but since the pond isn't ready they will stay here for a few more days. The floor of my greenhouse is covered in a black tarp that used to be used for covering bales.